Recently, our clients have experienced very large fees for certain jobs, fees which do not fall in line with the scope of the job. If you do the math, you will find that the valuation for the permits are approximately $34 per square foot. For example, one of my clients had a contract already signed for less than $50,000, and yet the city evaluated his permit at almost $1500. When he protested, he was told there is no other recourse other than getting the Atlanta City Council to revise the ordinance.

The issue here is not the amount of the fee, but the fact that these fee increases are not across the board but appear to be applied randomly at the reviewer’s discretion.

The IBC states that every jurisdiction should have a board of appeals for disputes.  Atlanta does not have such a board.  We have written an ordinance that would create a Board of Appeals and presented it to Michael Julian Bond, but have received no response.  If you would like to see such a board instated, please contact Mr. Bond at mbond@atlantaga.gov and ask him to pursue this ordinance.

Inappropriate fees continue to be an issue at the city.  Contractors are urged to contest these fees, most of which are coming in at about $147 per square foot for an interior alteration to second generation space.

Although this has been brought to the attention of Commissioner Shelby, no resolution has taken place as yet.